“Time for us to Introspect”, says BJP alliance partner Shiv Sena spokesperson after the Assembly Poll Result trends 2018

Sanjay Raut, Shiv Sena spokesperson says time for the BJP and allies to introspect after the Assembly poll results show anti-incumbency at work.

As the results of the Assembly Polls 2018 from five states such as Telangana, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Mizoram are trickling, the Shiv Sena spokesperson and Rajya Sabha MP, Sanjay Raut had said without mincing words that it is time for the ruling BJP at Centre to analyse the governance with the results showing anti-incumbency factor is plaguing the BJP.

While quoting Raut, a PTI statement said that the trends mirrored that the BJP’s victory chariot has been halted. “This is a clear message and it is time for us to introspect”, Raut told the media in Parliament. Besides being a partner of the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) led by the BJP at the Centre, and also in Maharashtra, its ally, Shiv Sena has a love-hate relationship with the BJP. Although, the two political parties contested the Maharasthra Assembly polls in 2014 separately, nevertheless, the two parties forged alliance to form a government, headed by the BJP Chief Minister, Devendra Fadnavis.

India Assembly Polls 2018. Photo: EC.

The latest poll results trend clearly shows that the BJP is trailing in both Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh to the Congress, while the two parties are fighting neck and and neck in Madhya Pradesh. In Telangana, the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS), headed by KS Chandrasekar Rao is preparing to form the government for the second time, while in the northestern state of Mizoram, the Mizo National Front (MNF) has relegated the ruling Congress way behind in its tally of seats.

The latest tally is as follows: In MP, Congress is leading in 118 seats, BJP 103 and BSP 2. In Telangana the TRS is leading in 87 seats Congress 22 and BJP 1. In Rajasthan, Congress leads with 102 seats BJP 72, BSP 2. In Chhattisgargh Congress 64, BJP 17 and BSP 9. In Mizoram, MNF 26, Congress 5 and BJP 1.

“Frauds in the last four years have outnumbered the achievements of BJP Government. Vijay Mallya led a scam of about Rs.9,000 crore, Nirav Modi of Rs.11,500 crore, Jatin Mehta of Rs.7,000 crore, Nitin Sandesara of Rs.5,000 crore. How were they able to escape with people’s money so easily?”, AP Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu was quoted as saying by the Indian Express report.

“How many more fraud cases before the country sees the true face of BJP government? Behind the facade of false promises lies the truth about farmer debt crisis, rising cases of corruption, attacks on women, communal violence, growing unrest among people and serious threat to democracy,” Naidu was quoted as saying by the report.

Naidu, who met opposition leaders including Aam Aadmi Party chief, Arvind Kejriwal, Loktantrik Janata Dal leader Sharad Yadav, Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati and National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah, urged political parties to come together to take the requisite steps to oust the present NDA Government, noted the report.

Nadu tweeted, “It is the need of the hour for all the leaders of the country to come forth, unite & take necessary steps to protect the country from a state of anarchy. Any kind of threat to our democratic values must face a strong opposition. People’s faith in the government must be restored.”

In the run-up to the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Naidu stressed the urgent need to unite against the ruling BJP at the Centre “to protect the country from a state of anarchy.”

Naidu also took to Twitter to list out the “fraud cases” of the Narendra Modi Government, asked how many such cases will the country have to witness “before it sees the true face of the BJP.”

The Telugu Desam Party (TDP) leader also charged the Union Government with discrimination against the newly formed state and failure to grant it a special status, the report said. “Special Category Status was promosed to Andhra Pradesh in the AP Reorganisation Act, 2014 in order to help the State tackle the financial crisis after bifurcation of the united Andhra into Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. We had an alliance with BJP, but on coming to power, PM Modi failed to fulfil the promises he made to the people of AP before elections”, Naidu charged and added, “The Union Government has shown discrimination against our newly-formed State. In spite of the devastation caused by cyclone Titli, Home Minister Rajnath Singh chose to inaugurate party office in Guntur instead of visiting cyclone-affected areas. People’s trust in BJP government has been shattered.”

Raking up demonetisation and the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax, Naidu said, “Every citizen of this country suffered because of demonetisation, the imposition of GST amplified the crisis. In four years, no honest attempts have been made against black money. Thanks to demonetisation, the country is not growing and even the investors are losing confidence.”

Raking up demonetisation and the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax, Naidu said, “Every citizen of this country suffered because of demonetisation, the imposition of GST amplified the crisis. In four years, no honest attempts have been made against black money. Thanks to demonetisation, the country is not growing and even the investors are losing confidence.”

The Chief Election Commissioner, OP Rawat today announced the dates for the Assembly Elections in states such as Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Mizoram and Telangana. Apparently, with this announcement of poll dates, the Model Code of Conduct has come into force with immediate effect.

Election Dates

As per Rawat, the election in Chhattisgarh will be conducted in two phases. The first stage will be held in 18 Assembly Constituencies on November 12, while the second stage of election will be held in 72 Constituencies on November 20. Legislative elections in MP and Mizoram will be conducted on November 28. Eventually, Rajasthan and Telangana are also going to the hustings on December 7 in a single phase. According to the EC, the counting of votes will be on December 11. As Mizoram’s 50 member house comes to an end on December 15, the 90 member Chhattisgarh Assembly ends on January 5, 2019, whereas the tenure of the 230 member MP Assembly comes to an end on January 7, 2019, the 200-member Rajasthan Assembly expires on January 20, next year. As a pre-emptive measure, the Telangana Government, led by the TRS Chief Minister, K Chandrasekhar Rao had dissolved the house recently, apparently to avoid a possible clubbing of Assembly hustings with the Lok Sabha polls.